holy cow i was just posting in the tiki travle section about the hiwaiian village. i remember this place from my misspent youth. those postcards sure bring back fond memories. we also had "trader frank's tiki gardens" over in indian rocks beach.

Hey Dusty, My brother went by and shot a picture of the Royal Hawaiian or what is left of it now. It is a travel lodge. Basically the travel lodge is in the old Marco Polo motel and they use that office and the two hotels next to it they are combined now. My brother says it is a typical nasty old beach front motel now. Here it is now. The old office is now a pizza shop. They added a walkway to join the buildings above the driveway.

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On 2008-10-06 17:11, Dustycajun wrote:Here is the close up of the Palm Beach Hawaiian. There was a large Tiki that used to be located in front of the building were all of the overgrown vegetation is now. Might be worth a look-see behind the hedge. There was also a nice Tiki on top of the hotel sign along with a big parrot and a cool outrigger and Tiki shack in the foreground of the sign.

Our rediscovery of the Palm Beach Hawaiian is not over yet. In fact, it's just beginning. Thanks to TabooDan's curiosity, I headed back down to the Palm Beach Oceanfront Inn to see if I missed anything on my first visit. After discovering no visible signs of the building's tiki past, I admit I neglected to venture into every nook and cranny. I just figured a facelift such as this would leave no artifacts behind. So I approached with little hope of finding anything. This first photo is from a similar angle as the one above (which probably was taken in the mid-'60s shortly after the motel's opening) ...

There's nothing left at ground level except for the bubbling pool (see below). The owner later told me he doesn't know what happened to the original sign.

And it's clear that the carvings or ornaments at the top of the A-frame had been removed, which I confirmed upon closer inspection ...

It appears they didn't even bother to smooth over the remnants of where they attached to the facade ...

Now, here's where it gets interesting. Venturing into the overgrown vegetation, I gazed up on the wall, expecting for find nothing more than traces of long-removed ornaments. I saw a maintenance shed, then did a double-take ...

Yes, two proud tiki masks still in their original location on the front wall ...

The one on the right was very much obscured by foliage and looked a bit ragged ...

But the one on the left appeared to be in good shape considering its been there for some 45 years and has probably received minimal care. The fact that it faces away from the ocean and is shielded from the winds and salt-water spray by the building could be its saving grace. Let's take a closer look ...

The owner confirmed that these carvings have been there since the inn was built. The manager said they remain on the building due to their sentimental value. It's nice to see an establishment that retains a link to its past, even though its kept shrouded in shrubbery.

I'll try to post more updates as I further investigate the history of the Palm Beach Hawaiian. I hope to have more conversations with the owner about the inn's past and also his future plans.

Okay you Florida Tiki archeologists, I want to know what this place looks like today!:

From Wikipedia: "Eve Arden (April 30, 1908 – November 12, 1990) was an Academy Award-nominated and Emmy-winning American actress. Her almost 60-year career crossed most media frontiers with supporting and leading roles, but she is perhaps best remembered for playing the sardonic but engaging high school teacher in the classic Our Miss Brooks (radio and television), and as the Rydell High School principal in the films Grease and Grease 2."

It might have been renamed because all its features were easy to remove Witco wall hangings or mural paintings, but who knows:
This place is an example of how Polynesian pop was relegated to the old folks lifestyle by the late 60s early 70s. Here is a Witco tryptich in the game room:

...Witco's "Leilani" in the billiards room:

The lobby is quite intriguing, apart form the Witco masks hanging above the entrances on the left and right, the mural seem to sport two nude bathing Wahines on the right, and another one on the left holding up something? I bet that's all long gone. But maybe the tiled wall waterfall is still there?:

And how about those cool Tiki face bowling ports! I have never seen a Tiki bowling alley do that before:

How great is that! Hooray! --Ghee, urban archeology is so easy since the internet. I think the bowling alley had Witco masks on the wall, too. Somebody go and document that mural in crisp shots, too, please!

On 2008-11-25 14:18, bigbrotiki wrote:How great is that! Hooray! --Ghee, urban archeology is so easy since the internet. I think the bowling alley had Witco masks on the wall, too. Somebody go and document that mural in crisp shots, too, please!

why wans't that bowling alley in your last book!!!???......i know i know...who knew about it till now, right....anyway it really needs to be documented throughly before we find that one day the wrecking ball has claimed it...
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Thanks for the great images. That place is simply awesome. I can't believe it still looks like that. It would be great to see some shots of the inside with the mural and the bowling alley and that pool area outside too.

If those Witco pieces are gone I know who got them. Well, who had them for a while anyway. I know an antique dealer who had a small shop in NYC and used to do shows all up and down the East coast. They had ones identical to the triptych in the photo (and big money on them too). They told me they came from a place in Florida, but it's been years now and I forgot if they told me the name of the place. Maybe the Polynesian Gardens did some "renovations" at one point and removed some of the Witco.

That bowling alley is absolutely amazing! The Leilani Lanes should have had facades like that.

More observations on the material:
In the real estate site exterior shot, it looks like they have the two heads that are rendered on the back of postcard as actual statues in the parking lot.
In the vintage lobby shot, I believe the couple is also sitting on some Witco benches and stools. And the door on the left looks like it has an interesting pattern....I wish I could go there right NOW!